U.S. mobile data revenue surpasses voice call revenue: analyst

NEW YORK | By Marina Lopes

A woman takes a photo of models presenting creations from the Clover Canyon Autumn/Winter 2013 collection during New York Fashion Week, February 13, 2013.

Reuters/Joshua Lott

NEW YORK Mobile data brought U.S. wireless carriers more revenue than voice calls did for the first time last quarter, a milestone for the industry as faster network speeds are prompting Americans to consume, and pay for, more data than ever.

Mobile data service revenue reached $90 billion last year and accounted for more than 50 percent of revenues for wireless companies in the final quarter of 2013, according to research published by Chetan Sharma Consulting late Wednesday.

"It is a milestone in the evolution of the industry," Chetan Sharma, president of the Seattle firm, said in a phone interview.

This year, Sharma predicts that the United States will become the first country to bring in $100 billion in mobile data revenue, a steep rise from the $1 billion the sector drew in 2002.

Customers are increasingly using their smart phones and tablets the way they use desktop computers, driving the rise in data consumption as they stream videos and download dense applications, said Sharma.

Last month, Cisco Systems Inc issued a report saying that by 2018, U.S. consumers will upload more data on smartphones than they did on laptops in 2013.